


Jade and Rose finally get to talk. (OFFICIAL CANON SEQUEL TO HOMESTUCK.)

by go_bruins



Category: Homestuck, Homestuck 2
Genre: Better Than Canon, Bless all you Jade Harley kinnies, Bless every single artist and writer who worked on Jadeweek, Bless the mods on the Jadeweek blog, Canon, Canon Compliant, Earth C (Homestuck), F/F, Let's just say I chug the respect Jade Harley juice, Official Fanwork, Unlike certain authors, You're the real MVPs of Homestuck
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-29
Updated: 2019-11-29
Packaged: 2021-02-18 08:13:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,045
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21507955
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/go_bruins/pseuds/go_bruins
Summary: Two women, once best of friends are older. And they finally sit down and talk (For Jade Week 2019).
Relationships: Implied Kanaya Maryam/Vriska Serket, Jade Harley/Rose Lalonde, Rose Lalonde/Kanaya Maryam
Comments: 3
Kudos: 20





	Jade and Rose finally get to talk. (OFFICIAL CANON SEQUEL TO HOMESTUCK.)

**Author's Note:**

> Hey remember when Homestuck ended without Jade and Rose having a final conversation? 
> 
> Fuck Andrew Hussie he's a piece of shit lol. if canon's in the hands of the fans then i will give these women the respect they deserve you lazy e boy manchild.

This has certainly been long long overdue. And at one point it was almost excusable. The fear of a final battle, the relief of actually overcoming what seemed to be impossible odds and the sheer joy of moving into the new world all took precedence over other emotions. But things have changed, people have grown and lives have continued. They were no longer children, no longer teens with lives solely dedicated to beating a video game. They were gods. They were wives. They were living what normality they could after all that.   


And that is what brings these two women together. Jade Harley and Rose Lalonde, two people who many years ago could call themselves the best of friends. Two of a pair that had to endure the utter bullshittery of their male counterparts and who could always trust in one another. But the nights of Pesterchumming until till the morning light broke the other side of the globe were long since behind them. And thus the two sat at either side of the neatly decorated tea table the Lalonde had set out. For once their schedules aligned to bring them back together, Kanaya was off working a special shift in the Brooding Caverns and as for Jade's "housemates" it seemed as if Dave and Karkat were on some manner of movie night.   


To an outsider looking in, these women seem to be perfect strangers to each other. The way Rose was so thoroughly invested in stirring her Earl Grey brew around her cup with almost mechanical precision almost mirrored the studious manner in which Jade seemed to be ever so curious about what was at the bottom of her own mug that she couldn't speak. The awkward silence was broken, but not by words at first but by the loud clatter of Jade bringing her mug down from her lips to the nicely matching saucer that it had been served on.   


JADE: remember when we were best friends?  
ROSE: ... Were...?  
JADE: it was a lot of fun  
JADE: at least for me  
JADE: your messages always brightened up my day   
ROSE: The feeling has been mutual, Jade. I don't understand why you'd speak in past tense, however.  
ROSE: Have I done something to offend?  
ROSE: Have I really been so distant?  
JADE: ...  
JADE: a little?  
JADE: well actually a lot  
JADE: its like i finally meet you after all this time  
JADE: and youve moved on  
JADE: which is fine its not like i can blame you for going about and living your life  
JADE: heck its not like im even that jealous of you for being able to move on  
JADE: i guess i just expected  
JADE: more?  
JADE: a pat on the back?  
ROSE: I...  
ROSE: Didn't realize you'd felt this way.  
ROSE: I suppose I can only hope it's not too late.  
ROSE: And I apologize. I never intended to make you feel this way. Life moves so quickly and a lot of things fell to the side.  
ROSE: I think I became so content in knowing you'd always be there, as if held on reserve.  
ROSE: That was selfish of me.  
ROSE: I'm sorry.  
JADE: i spent three years alone in what amounts to a metal shoebox floating through space  
JADE: holding in tears because i desperately thought that once this is all over we would all be friends  
JADE: we would all hang out  
JADE: i could finally take you on a picnic and show you my garden  
JADE: and then i finally get there  
JADE: after all those nights spent alone  
JADE: and its like you dont even recognize me  
JADE: i gave up so much for you  
JADE: for everyone  
JADE: the love i had in my heart was the only thing keeping me going  
ROSE: I know you did, Jade. Though I think expectations were held differently through all this.  
ROSE: Of all our friends, you were the one I'd wanted to meet most.  
ROSE: Maybe something could come of my childhood crush, I thought!  
ROSE: Then everything began happening so quickly.  
ROSE: I gave up on thinking we'd meet because in all the alternate routes I'd been given a view of, I didn't make it.  
ROSE: Sacrifices would need to be made and I had a role to fill.  
ROSE: But now that I'm left with an option to continue, things took a different turn.  
ROSE: I didn't consider those around me who'd been waiting to get...  
ROSE: Even a hello.  
ROSE: I'm sorry.  
ROSE: I really, genuinely am.  
JADE: you have nothing to be sorry for i guess  
JADE: all i wanted for my friends to be happy  
JADE: and you went out and found that happiness  
JADE: even if it didnt involve me in the long run  
JADE: i could never hate you  
JADE: i could never not love you with every fiber of my being  
JADE: and i hate how selfish i sound when i talk like this  
JADE: but i have to!  
JADE: everyone else got catharsis! got some chance for this bullshit!  
JADE: if the universe wants me alone so badly ill accept it but at least let me be honest about how that makes me feel for once  


For a brief second the two women merely look at one another, Rose's eyes meeting Jade's as they both sat in silence. Jade noticed the eye contact and in a moment of self awareness, realizes just how boisterous she was being in spilling her emotional "tea". A large lump began to form in her throat and that forced her back into being quiet, a hand falling down to clutch at the knee of her dress.   


ROSE: You've been owed more than just an opportunity to be honest.  
ROSE: Far more.  
ROSE: And while I don't doubt you've been clued in, a lot of those smiling faces you're seeing are still kids dealing with trauma making the best of things.  
ROSE: Kids still having doubts about the end game, about the choices they've made.  
ROSE: I have them about Kanaya. I have them about myself.  
ROSE: I don't know what else to say other than I'm sorry.  
JADE: you could hug me?  
JADE: shake my hand?  
JADE: you could do anything rose  
JADE: but  
JADE: at this point theres no reason for any of us to be sorry  
JADE: our lives were just destined to be some fucked up game of space chess between two green skeletons  
JADE: it was pretty dumb for us all to pretend like the dreams of a bunch of kids were ever going to come true  
ROSE: Do you think it hadn't crossed my mind?  
ROSE: To do those things? To embrace you? To hold you? Cling to you with every ounce of strength in my body?   
ROSE: But for all the time we spent apart, I could only assume you'd moved on as much as the rest of us.  
ROSE: And gods forbid I ever make you feel like a second choice, something for me to throw away..  
JADE: at least then someone other than the gears of this shitty world would be making a choice for me  
JADE: at least it would be my best friend  
JADE: at least...  
JADE: at least it would be you  
JADE: rose...  
ROSE: Are you telling me it's what you want then?  
ROSE: Despite my failings?  
JADE: we were just kids  
JADE: of course we going to fail  
JADE: no teenager can handle being a god  
JADE: i just want my friends back  


For a second, it's almost as if every muscle in Rose's body shut down and went limp. Her frame hunches over in her seat as she stares wearily into the cup she delicately cradles in her palms, avoiding the intensity of Jade's stare. It was like she wanted to wither away this very instant but as she shifted her weight back so the rocking motion could do the work for her and raise her head.   


ROSE: I do too.  


Rose decides to tentatively close the gap between them, standing up from her chair and all but marching over to stand beside Jade, nearly bumping into her as she extends her arms open to the seated Witch. She'd leave it up to her if she took the opportunity.   


From behind her round lenses, Jade's rich green eyes look straight at Rose. Here it was. A hug. Physical contact. With a person who she had given so much for. And awkwardly as possible Jade's hand moved out to rest on the Lalonde's shoulder, patting at it.  


JADE: you have kanaya  
JADE: and dave  
JADE: and karkat  
JADE: youve got three years of memories with these people that you can fall back on  
JADE: youve got a lot of places and people to fall back on  
JADE: and sometimes it just feels like i dont have that and it makes me sad  


And with that, Rose's arms fall, just as her expression falters in turn with it. The normally stoic Seer grimaces and frowns. Genuine hurt sticks against all efforts she makes to keep a lid on the well of her emotions bubbling up. She takes a half step back, folding her arms over her stomach as if the emotions she was feeling were suddenly welling up into physical pain.  


ROSE: You haven't lost me, Jade. Or Dave, or John, or any of them.  
ROSE: Sometimes we just need a good punch to the gut to look up and see what's in front of us.  
ROSE: I'm sorry.  
JADE: from the looks of it...  
JADE: i think youve been punched enough rose  
JADE: we all have  
JADE: but you have a life now  
JADE: a proper and real life  
JADE: you have a family, a wife!!! its like youve been given a shot at making things normal  


The Harley's arms move back as she just shrugs at her shoulders, her gaze slowly falling to the floor as she could see just how stiff Rose and dejected had become after the rejection of her hug. It pained Jade to see her like this, and to know that she was the one causing it. Internally she kicked herself for daring to turn her metaphorical back on such a display of emotion.  


JADE: we both need to face the fact that neither of our shitty little teenage crushes on each other worked out  
ROSE: An... idyllic picture, isn't it?  
ROSE: A family, a wife. The perfect picture of of marital bliss.  
ROSE: A lovely concept.  
ROSE: Poor execution.  
ROSE: All built around the expectations carried over from storybooks read naught years before entering into this mess.  
ROSE: I near constantly question if Kanaya and I fell together because there was no other option.  
ROSE: Sure, we tell ourselves, and we tell each other, and we tell everyone that isn't the case.  
ROSE: That it was the only kind hand fate had dealt us.  
ROSE: We both know that isn't the case.  


It always seemed as if Rose was one to wax poetic. Even when debating the grand ideas of what could have been against what they had. Trust a Seer to feel this way when presented with every single thread of fate. Could one possibly live with what they had when the infinite reaches of what could have been are always in the back of their mind? It seemed at this very instant the sheer magnitude of what Rose had been carrying hit Jade and she bit down onto her bottom lip, dejectedly staring at the ground as she spoke.   


JADE: honestly, after i got home from your wedding i just cried  
JADE: i cried and cried and cried  
JADE: you two looked so beautiful  
JADE: for once i looked at you and i realized how perfect a fit you and kanaya were  
JADE: how strong that bond was and how that even if things were different and i had ended up on that meteor  
JADE: even if i had been given the chance to spend my three years with you  
JADE: i could never have made you happy like she has  
JADE: supported you like she did  
JADE: stayed awake so she could be there for when you have nightmares  
JADE: and i never felt so small  


ROSE: ...   
ROSE: I want to ask you something, Jade.  
ROSE: In the time we'd known each other, even marking the time spent apart, did you ever picture me as the sort to want to walk down an aisle? To wear white and abide by some ceremony to profess love and share vows, and put on a show for all our friends?  
ROSE: Did it never occur to you how bizarrely out of character that was?  
JADE: i never pictured myself as being worth that kind of time to you  
JADE: in my dreams i guess i skipped all that  
JADE: right through the planning phase and straight into the domestic bliss  
JADE: which is impossible  
JADE: you cant have cause without the effect  
JADE: you did that for kanaya  
JADE: planning and putting on a wedding is probably on par with making a whole new world  
ROSE: Perhaps on those nights on the island you let your mind wander into the grand ambitions of a young girl trapped and yearning for her closest friend.  
ROSE: Quiet days spent together, watching snow fall, drinking tea. Helping you with the garden and walking our dog together while I explain whatever tome I'd shove my nose in? That sort of domestic bliss? The kind where I sit at the counter and read or listen to you talk while you cook dinner and feed scraps to the dog and scold the cat for jumping on the counter? The domestic fantasy where I no longer wake in a cold sweat because I'm sharing a bed with the one person I'd been quietly infatuated with since childhood?  
ROSE: That sort of domestic bliss?  


ROSE: I don't want to pretend anymore.  
ROSE: I want the garden. The dog and the cat. The peace.  
ROSE: The sanctuary of being with someone I've known for years.  
ROSE: I want to be with you. I've wanted to be with you, Jade.  


It took a second for Jade to regain her metaphorical footing. Her chest heaving with deep breaths as she watched Rose's face scrunch up with the conflicted emotions of a woman torn between what she wants and what she has. And with that Jade leans her head downward, resting her forehead against the other so she could look Rose dead in the eyes.  


JADE: i want it too  
JADE: ive never stopped wanting it  


She brings a hand to her heart, having built up in a more passionate rant as that well of emotions begins to gush forth.  


ROSE: The sort of "bliss" kept with Kanaya is silence, Jade.  
ROSE: And deafening silence between us as we go about our lives acknowledging that we'd made this choice.  
ROSE: A choice born entirely out of narcissism because we wanted to mold the other into who we wanted to be.  
ROSE: We're so painfully similar, I can hardly stand to look at her on the worst of days.  
ROSE: Do you know who helped me through the worst parts on the meteor? Through the nightmares and the drinking and the crying?  
JADE: no i dont know that rose  
JADE: but i think you should tell me because its obvious that keeping that inside is going to hurt you more and more and more  


Rose lets out a loud laugh, tossing her head back before facing Jade in a wide eyed display of sheer emotion, her hand beating at her chest again with an open palm, a near-manic smile crossing her face as the show of tears start to form against her eyes.  


ROSE: Vriska.  
ROSE: Fucking.  
ROSE: Serket.  
ROSE: The same troll my "wife" clearly has unfinished business to deal with.  
ROSE: And I can't even be upset with her because I harbor the same feelings for someone I can't even touch.  
ROSE: It's not as if I do not love Kanaya. There is something in the bottom of my heart that I feel for her that cannot be denied.  
ROSE: But when I see her and Vriska, when I think about it long and hard and realize just what a history these two have had. That I've seemingly inserted myself into I cannot bear to consider that the hands of fate have pushed me this way.  
ROSE: It's like I'm just a wedge to be pushed into Kanaya and Vriska's frivolous rivalry and even though I am the one who she comes home to, perhaps if I had not been there on the meteor none of this would have happened.  
ROSE: That her life would be just the same, if not better if I hadn't waggled my brows at her and run off to Karkat's library to binge on alien romance.   
ROSE: And here I am, dredging up a near decade old crush on a girl who is merely a table away from myself and I just do not know what I wish to do.   


Jade's teeth sink into her bottom lip so strongly that for a second she worries that she's drawn blood, but finally she lifts her head upwards to face Rose's emotional tirade. The way her tears poured down her pale cheeks made it seem as if the two women were being drenched by a sudden rainstorm and yet the sun above was still shining down upon them as if this was the peachiest of days. Jade's brilliantly white and fluffy ears dropped down against her head before she summoned the courage to do what she needed to do.  


Her arms shot out and looped over the Lalonde's shoulder in a awkward, unpracticed burst of physical intimacy and Jade Harley pulled Rose Lalonde right into her chest, holding her in what seemed to be the mightiest of bear hugs as the Witch rubbed small circles into the Seer's back.  


It takes the other completely off guard. She buries her face into the other's shoulder as she takes a shaky breath as she begins to cry in earnest. Her hands unfold from her stomach, comings to cling to Jade. When she speaks her words are audible, though muffled.  


From Rose to Jade. Tears drip down the Harley's cheeks as she held on for dear life to the Lalonde's frame. Rose felt ever so delicate, ever so small and Jade feared that if she clung on too tightly she could risk losing her. But she couldn't deny the swell of emotions that flowed through her body as she tried to hold back her own tears.   


ROSE: I'm sorry. I'm an idiot. I'm sorry.  
JADE: see the word idiot and the name rose lalonde dont strike as the kind of thing that goes together  
JADE: kind  
JADE: smart  
JADE: funny  
JADE: ... suffering  
JADE: i guess those make me think of you more than "idiot"  


Jade does not let go. She refuses to let go. Not now and not in any immediate future. From her position as the slightly taller of the two she craned her neck from one side so she could carefully and tenderly rest her cheek against the Lalonde's head, listening to the other's choked sobs and cries as she just held Rose in her arms.  


JADE: you never need to apologize to me rose, not for crying, not for being sad  
JADE: not for anything  


She remains in Jade's arms until she's able to calm down. For a moment, she's able to exist in a world where she didn't make the wrong choices. Where she didn't leave her best friend in the lurch. Tears that had been held back for far too long continue to soak the other's clothes, even as the sobs ebb. It takes some time for her to speak up again, and even when she does, her voice is soft, vulnerable. A stark contrast to the character she wears.  


ROSE: You... smell like flowers. And pot soil. 

From the middle of the hug Rose shifts, standing a little more upright so she can tilt her head into Jade's neck.  


ROSE: And you're warm.  
ROSE: Like you'd been basking in the sun.  
ROSE: ... Tending our garden. Keeping our bed warm. Keeping me cozy while we watch the snow fall.  


Rose's entire being tenses again, from her head to her toes she felt every ounce of her being cry out to hold on for dear life. And so her hands clung tighter, fingers digging into the fabric of the Harley's shirt in a desperate effort to stay as close as she could.  


ROSE: I'm still sorry.  
JADE: heh... i always pictured you knitting us matching sweaters for the winter season  
JADE: and i was going to complain about it the entire time but secretly i would love it  
JADE: we were going to sit together on the couch and just feel at peace  
JADE: you smell just as vibrant as i imagined all those years ago  
JADE: different from the salt and the sea air of the island  
JADE: even without the doggy genes i think i could get used to it  


The Harley's own arms stiffen in response as she listens, her mind racing as she thought back to every lonely night she had spent dreaming of this day. The day she could hold Rose in her arms and tell her all the reasons why she had fallen in love with her in the first place and now here they were. It wasn't like a storybook. It wasn't a fantasy. These were two very damaged people clinging desperately to one another, a lifetime of mistakes and misdeeds and regrets clouding their every step forward.  


But for now, for this brief moment Rose was in the arms of someone who loved her.  


And Jade knew deep down that she was as well.  


JADE: i love you rose  


Jade's words prompt a flock of butterflies to take flight in her stomach and her heart to rise up to her throat. It gets a smile, which contrasts with her flushed, tear-streaked cheeks.   


ROSE: Sweaters, huh? And matching gloves, too, I bet.   


There's a small huff that could be construed as a mirthless laugh at the thought.  
She holds her tighter, trying again to exist only in this moment despite all the intrusive thoughts reminding her of the reality existing outside their sphere. Her response comes quietly, though without hesitation.  


It's a completely confusing group of feelings to tend with. The sadness of reconciling a short lifetime of bad choices leading up to this moment, the catharsis of finally being honest with herself, and the overwhelming swell of vindicated, requited love. When she feels the telltale wetness of Jade's own tears, she draws back just enough to look her in the eye. The maelstrom of feelings dwindles down to a single swirling need to fulfil. Her hands move up to cradle her cheeks, thumbs delicately brushing over Jade's cheekbones to brush away tears. Rather than allowing her another second where doubt could rear its ugly head, she takes the plunge. Eyes close and she rises slightly on her toes to meet Jade's lips with her own.   


It was a plunge. A deep tumbling fall off the edge of a cliff into a gaping void of the unknown. But with Jade's arms around Rose's waist and Rose's hands so delicately clutching at her cheeks, the fall could not have felt so vindicating. Was it wrong for Jade to enjoy this? For her eyes to flutter shut as her lips pressed up against the others, returning the kiss with every ounce of passion she had restrained herself from for so many years? It could not be wrong, not when it felt like this, not when it was even better than her dreams and her hopes had told her it could be. The Harley's kiss is passionate albeit sloppy, every inch the unpracticed partitioner of intimacy but Jade did not break it until she had to gasp for air, her tear stained cheeks brilliantly flushed as she gazed at Rose.  


ROSE: I love you too, Jade.  


**Author's Note:**

> And thus ends my piece for Jadeweek 2019. Happy Frijade!


End file.
